Go-Med and dependency on on-demand services

Go-Auto and Go-Med will push businesses to be more pro-active in pursuing existing opportunities

Go-Jek and its various on-demand services (Image Credit: DailySocial)

About two days ago, a popular Twitter handle that discusses startups Startupwati“leaked” a document about Go-Jek’s partnership with Apotik Antar to develop the Go-Med feature in the Go-Jek app. Go-Med will help customers buy medicines without having to go to the chemists; working just like the Go-Mart feature for minimarts and supermarkets. So far we are still unable to confirm the leak, either from Go-Jek’s side or Apotik Antar’s side, despite the fact that Go-Jek had already owned the Go-Med.co.id domain. The presence of Go-Med will further strengthen Go-Jek’s position as an on-demand service that makes life easier.

The whole idea of Go-Med had already been applied in the new version of Apotik Antar service which had been available since the beginning of the year, and had also been integrated to the HaloDoc umbrella. I personally have tried it a few times. Customers can ask for Apotik Antar to buy them certain medicines, Apotik Antar will then check for its availability, and it will be delivered using Go-Jek’s fleet. This partnership works really well as Go-Jek also happens to be an investor in the company that develops Apotik Antar and HaloDoc.

Developing Go-Med feature in the Go-Jek app means increased exposure of the feature to an even wider customers. Even for the Android platform, Go-Jek has been downloaded for more than 10 million times.

There are two issues that become my concern if Go-Med is eventually launched for real. First is how to streamline the medicine search procedure from Apotik Antar team to Go-Jek driver partners. In Apotik Antar, medicine search is conducted by an internal team as availability varies from one chemist to another. This is a different case for Go-Mart service which tends to be more practical, as the products are more common and widely available.

The customers are not accustomed to wait for a long time and the waiting time for when a medicine is being searched in a nearby chemist should really be minimalised.

My second concern will be about prescription-only medicines and other kinds that are not sold over-the-counter. While it is true that in their terms and conditions page the companies stated that they will not accommodate such requests, but who will be in charge of the implementation on the ground? These two points become a crucial point for Go-Med’s success, which has to be ready to accommodate a greater variety of customers in both numbers and type of requests.

The presence of Go-Med and Go-Auto (which had recently been launched) represents the size of on-demand market in Indonesia. The public is getting more spoiled with the ease to shop for goods without having to struggle finding its provider, and businesses of all lines need to be ready to seize the opportunity.

The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your article here.

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